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Sam Altman - Wikipedia
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3/5
Good(3)Good quality. Reputable source with community review or editorial standards, but less rigorous than peer-reviewed venues.
Rating inherited from publication venue: Wikipedia
Background reference on a key figure in AI development; useful for understanding the leadership and organizational context of OpenAI, a central player in frontier AI safety and capabilities debates.
Metadata
Importance: 35/100wiki pagereference
Summary
Wikipedia biography of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and prominent figure in AI development. Covers his background as a technology entrepreneur, his role leading OpenAI through major product launches including ChatGPT, and his public positions on AI safety and governance.
Key Points
- •Sam Altman is CEO of OpenAI, the organization behind GPT-4, ChatGPT, and other influential AI systems.
- •Previously served as president of Y Combinator, giving him significant influence in the broader tech startup ecosystem.
- •Has publicly advocated for AI regulation while simultaneously accelerating AI capabilities development.
- •Was briefly fired and reinstated as OpenAI CEO in November 2023, highlighting governance tensions at the organization.
- •Frequently cited in AI safety discussions as a key decision-maker shaping how frontier AI systems are developed and deployed.
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Sam Altman | Person | 40.0 |
3 FactBase facts citing this source
| Entity | Property | Value | As Of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Altman | Education | Studied computer science at Stanford University for two years; dropped out in 2005 | — |
| Sam Altman | Notable For | CEO of OpenAI; previously president of Y Combinator; central figure in the commercialization of large language models | — |
| Sam Altman | Net Worth | $3.3 billion | Mar 2026 |
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American entrepreneur and investor (born 1985)
| Sam Altman |
| --- |
| [](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sam_Altman_TechCrunch_SF_2019_Day_2_Oct_3_(cropped_3).jpg)<br>Altman in 2019 |
| Born | Samuel Harris Altman<br> (1985-04-22) April 22, 1985 (age 40)<br>[Chicago](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago "Chicago"), Illinois, U.S. |
| Education | [Stanford University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University "Stanford University") (dropped out) |
| Notable work | [Loopt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loopt "Loopt") (co-founder) |
| Title | - CEO of [OpenAI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI "OpenAI")<br>- Chairman of [Helion Energy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helion_Energy "Helion Energy")<br>- Chairman of [Oklo Inc.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklo_Inc. "Oklo Inc.") (until 2025)<br>- President of [Y Combinator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_Combinator "Y Combinator") (until 2019) |
| Spouse | Oliver Mulherin<br><br>(m. 2024) |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | [blog.samaltman.com](https://blog.samaltman.com/) |
| Signature |
| [](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sam_altman_autograph_2024.svg) |
**Samuel Harris Altman** (born April 22, 1985)[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Altman#cite_note-1) is an American businessman and entrepreneur who has been the [chief executive officer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_executive_officer "Chief executive officer") (CEO) of the artificial intelligence research organization [OpenAI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI "OpenAI") since 2019.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Altman#cite_note-openailp-2)
Altman attended [Stanford University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University "Stanford University") for two years before dropping out and co-founding [Loopt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loopt "Loopt"), a smartphone [geosocial networking service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosocial_networking "Geosocial networking"), which raised more than US$30 million in [venture capital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venture_capital "Venture capital") before being acquired by [Green Dot Corporation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Dot_Corporation "Green Dot Corporation") for $43.4 million in cash.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Altman#cite_note-:4-3) In 2011, Altman joined [Y Combinator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_Combinator "Y Combinator"), a technology [startup accelerator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startup_accelerator "Startup accelerator") and venture capital firm, and was the company's president from 2014 to
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